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Glite Dictionary
hadrosaurus

hadrosaurus

9.9
A large plant-eating dinosaur with a duck-like beak that walked on two legs
  • noun
  • /ˌhædrəˈsɔrəs/
translation icon : hadrosaurio
  • The documentary depicted a hadrosaurus grazing near a riverbank, highlighting its adaptation to a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

Examples

  • The embryos were arranged by species: Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Hadrosaurus, Tyrannosaurus.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The paleontologist explained that hadrosaurus were large, duck-billed dinosaurs that roamed the Earth millions of years ago.

  • Pictured here are, from left to right, a hadrosaurus, a talarurus, and an albertasaurus standing in front of the Cretaceous mural.

    Academic text (1992)

  • During the museum tour, we saw a life-size model of a hadrosaurus designed to show its unique herbivorous diet.

Synonyms

hadrosaur
vshadrosaurus
1 9.9

A large plant-eating dinosaur with a duck-like bill and often a bony crest

is a specific genus within that family
duck-billed dinosaur
vshadrosaurus
1 7.4

A large plant-eating dinosaur with a long, flat beak like a duck

is the narrower name for one genus in that group

Surface Forms

hadrosaurus singular
hadrosauruses plural

Morphology

hadrosaurus = saurus (semi-transparent) = hadro + saurus

The '-saurus' element signals 'dinosaur' to many learners, but 'hadro-' ('thick' or 'bulky') is obscure, so learners can identify it as a dinosaur name but not the duck-billed specifics.

Etymology

Hadrosaurus comes from Greek parts hadro- meaning 'thick' or 'large' and -saurus meaning 'lizard'. So the name means 'large lizard', which helps you remember that a hadrosaurus was a big, duck-billed animal that ate plants.